You throw your body against the clear glass. It is about 11:57 pm. You’ve been waiting for about 9 hours. Your shoulder trembles from the sharp breeze passing by. Drizzles of rain tap onto the glass as you drop your head down. You breathe in the dense, cold air into your throat. Your beanie gets soggy from all of the rain, making your head feel numb.

“It’s dark out and the bus still hasn’t come yet?... What am I supposed to do, stay here until morning? I knew I should have pulled over that cab when I had the chance. You just can’t trust anyone to come on time anymore.”, you bite your lip and sigh off into the distance. Your eyes wonder.

    The long street lamp beside the bus bench is the only light seen for miles. Its soft, orange beam shines onto every raindrop as they countlessly fall down. You clench your hands around your notebook, trying to keep it dry. A chill runs down your back making you feel uneasy. You get the feeling that you are not alone out here. Suddenly, a hand lands onto your left shoulder. You immediately drop your notebook and turn back in reflex. Your eyes widen and become scared. A man with smooth features, dark skin, pitch black hair and a black stitched sweater fitting tightly to his body, wearing bold eyeliner, stares directly at you. His eyes are filled with pain and are shaking.

    “How, how… long is it to get to the… univ…”, he quavers as his hand grabs onto your shoulder even tighter, and then releases. His body abruptly hits the surface of the sidewalk. The thud strikes your heart. You stand there in shock, staring at his back. The rain has cooled down some and has become less harsh. You fold your arms, grasping onto your elbows, clenching your lips together, you look both sides, yet all remains clear. Shivering. Cold. Worried. Scared. You take a step closer.

    “Are, you okay si-sir?”, you lean down and put your hand on his back. His back slightly rises and then slightly falls back down. “Alright, phew good. You’re alive. I thought you died or something.”, still no response from the man. You stand up, wiping off the raindrops from your hands. You look down at him. You notice that there is a small cut on the back of his neck, yet it looks deep and damaging. The cut is oddly circular and very thin in radius.

    What in the world… That couldn’t be from just now? Could it? This doesn’t seem good…

You start to worry and get fidgety. You reach your hands into your pocket. Holding onto your phone, you hesitantly ponder, “Should I call an ambulance?”, you shake your head lightly and stuff your phone back into your pants as you see two thick, bright circles coming your way. “No way, the bus?... Oh wow, it is!”, you fiercely wave your right hand in the air trying to get noticed. The bus seems to be slowing down its speed.

Oh gosh, what about him? Ah, think… The bus is coming… umm. I can’t just let him stay here. Uh, well mmm… he must have been waiting for the bus too. Right? Didn’t he say something over the lines of… how long is it to get to somewhere? Maybe the bus driver can help him once he regains consciousness. Urgh, wait, she'll think I hurt him or something if she sees me with a man at this time of day, out cold. Ah, gosh! Think, think…

The bus stops right in front of you. The dim light of the lamp post drains the yellow color of the bus. The doors gradually open as you quickly lift him up with all your strength. His arms dangle from your back like a marionette. You take off your beanie and lift it over his head, slightly raised above his cheeks.

I’m going to regret this.

Just like if someone injured their legs, you wrap his arm around your shoulder and head to the opening of the bus. As usual, no one else is on the bus. Of course, at this hour, no one would be, but it was just common otherwise. The bus driver glares at you as she lifts her earbuds out of her ears. She narrows her eyes at the stranger. She smirks, then stretches her hand out to you.

I guess this passes..

Not caring one bit, she asks for the money. You smile awkwardly at her and lend her your money. Lucky, you have enough money to pay for two. Limping a bit to one side from his weight, you hesitantly take a seat in one of the middle chairs. You carefully place the stranger two seats ahead of you. The crepuscularity of the interior led lights strain the orange seats to a dark pumpkin color. All of the chairs in the bus are sideways, facing inward like a limousine, yet it never bothered you. Maybe that was the reason why no one ever rode. Your eyes glance to the back of the bus. Drops of rain overflow the foggy window. The droplets pelt harshly onto the glass. You can see the bus stop getting smaller and smaller until it disappears in the moonlight. You turn your head over to the front of the bus and notice that there are no windshield wipers.

“What happened to the windshield wipers?!”, you inquire. No response.“Um, bus driver, what happened to the windshield wipers? They were here last time.”

She casually begins to speak as if this was a reoccurring thing, “Well, you see, they got overflowed with too much rain. The wind was really heavy a couple of hours ago. They ended up breaking.”.

Then you shouldn’t be driving.

“Oh, well isn’t it unsafe?”

“I’ve got it under control. Don’t worry. Look sweetheart, I’m just doing my job.”, she shrugs then puts her earbuds back on.

Doing your job! What?! She’s out of her mind! I got to get out of here!

You glance down at your soggy tennis shoes. Twisting your heel, you playfully make them squeak, trying to distract yourself from thinking about it. You notice, from the corner of your eye, a pair of smooth, tan, bare feet wrapped with uneven pieces of dark string around the ankles.

I didn’t even notice! He has no shoes on? Did he have them on before? No, he couldn’t have. I could have sworn he…

You shift back upward in your seat. Glancing over to your left shoulder, you see his head tilted back on the chair. The bottom edges of your beanie dampen from the rain droplets, slowly seeping through his jet black hair.

And him… am I even doing the right thing? He just looked so helpless, I couldn’t have left him there.

During all of this, back at the bus stop, the bench is empty once again. The rain rivers down the glass structure as swishes of pounding water accumulate from a far distance.

“Hyung! Where did you go?! N-Hyung! Don’t scatter off like this!”, a low voice yells from the end of the sidewalk, about 750 feet away from the bus stop. He clenches his teeth together.

Like the other man in the bus with you, this person is nearly the same age, in his 20s. Behind him, there are three other men with similarly rough attire and makeup. All of them, bare footed. The man in the front screaming is the buffest out of the small clump. Behind, to the left of him, there is a man with a very sharp, detailed face and has eyes that are intimidating. Unlike the others, to the right of him, there is a man wearing a cream white long sleeved top, wrapped fully with white ropes and thick string. His pants are completely black, and very tight. Bundles of rope wrap around his legs, starting from his knees down to his feet, like leg warmers. He seems to be the youngest of the bunch. The person diagonally behind him is wearing a kendall charcoal gray, hatched sweater with poorly knitted sleeves. A thick piece of yarn droops around his neck, with lifelessness. Their hair are completely drenched, making them look as though they all have bangs across their eyes.

The man raises his voice once again, overpowering the raindrops, “We don’t want you to get lost!”. He stops for a second, making the other three stop suddenly as well. “Not, not like... Hongbin.”, all of the men flinch. His eyes dart at the ground, as if there was no other place to look.

“Ravi, don’t scare us, come on!”, whimpers the man in the gray sweater, as he passes the two other men and wraps both of his arms around Ravi’s neck, from behind. “N will be alright. He can’t be too far. He said that he heard a voice. We need someone who actually knows this place better than we do if we’re going to get on campus. He only turned the corner.”.

“Yes, but we can’t just scatter.”

The man that has his arms wrapped around Ravi, quickly drops his shoulders and dashes straight forward.

“Ken! What on earth! Come back here! You just said you were worried for N and now you’re falling in his footsteps. What’s wrong with you?”, Ravi chuckles in confusion.

“Wait, hold on!”, Ken stops at the end of the sidewalk, where the bus stop is placed. From the top of his lungs he yelps, “THERE’S A NOTEBOOK!”

“A notebook?”

“YES, A NOTEBOOK!”, chirps Ken from a distance.

Ravi and the youngest looking man both roll their eyes, while the other one just stares.

“Ken, please, this is serious.”

“THIS IS SERIOUS!”, Ken waves the wet notebook in the air while hopping in place, making splashes on the ground. The thick, droopy piece of yarn around his neck pounces along with him.

“Huh… hang on.”, Ravi and the other two men run down the sidewalk until they reach the end. Ravi takes a hold of the notebook and reads the fine print at the bottom.

“Property of Nhox University.”

“Nhox University?! Hyung’s in there!”, bubbles the youngest as he grasps onto Ravi’s left shoulder.

“Whoever had this must have been an enrolled student.”

“Check for a name!”

Ravi flips the notebook to the back, then front, turns the pages, and then stops his thumb on the second page. He opens it wider. “There seems to be no name, yet it’s definitely been used. And look!”

“What?”, Ken and the youngest lean in, closer. Ken on the right, the other on the left.

“Today’s date is printed at the top of the page.”, Ravi points at the page’s top corner, as the page starts to warp from its original form. “Aah, the rain is damaging the pages!”. He shuts the notebook. “If this person was here and dropped it, that means that they were going to take the bus. But, why did they drop it? What could have they seen or heard that caused the sudden action?”. Ravi drops his arm down, holding the notebook firmly and tilts his head to sky; closing his eyes, so that rain will not fall in. “What are we going to do…”.

“Shall we wait here, Hyung?”, the youngest suggests. “Ravi?”.

With his eyes still closed and head tilted back, he responds, “I’m thinking.”

The youngest lets out a small huff and lifts his eyes up. He squints and extends his neck. “Leo?”

“Leo?”, Ravi repeats.

“Leo’s crouching in the wet grass, over there, he-he.”

“He’s what?”, Ravi brings his head back down and turns and looks across the street. “Leo, what are you doing?”.

From across the street, Leo is seen caressing a black cat’s face. The cat’s fur matches the road as if it is nonexistent. Leo crouches even lower and lays his face against the feline’s forehead. The cat’s soaked cheeks, cover up Leo’s gentle smile as it purrs. He gradually gets up, and waves at the cat as it trots away into the grass patches. Leo walks over to the other side of the street where the others are and speaks softly, with care, “Let’s wait here for N.”. He takes a seat on the metal bar and folds his hands together, leaning his back on the pane. “He must be worried himself.”

    “Wait?... Do you think he’ll come back?”, Ken curiously asks while leaning against the outer pane of the bus stop. Water floods the side of his shoulder as he leans.

    “He... would... never try to leave us... intentionally.”, suddenly, Leo's piercing eyes get gentle. The tone of his voice is so crisp and soft, that whenever he speaks, everyone stops.

He lifts his legs up on the bench and puts them up in front of his stomach, wrapping his arms around the top of his knees, he rests his chin in between. The rain gets strong once again. The droplets accumulate, making a glossy coat on the sidewalk. The wind is a bit strong, but subtle enough that barely any rain is sweeping under the roof. Ravi, Ken, and the other man exchange glances and all migrate under the roof to join Leo on the bench. Ken on the left of Leo and Ravi on the right being awkwardly supported by Leo's side and the younger man's shoulder. The youngest is planted at the right end of the bench, sliding at the pace of a turtle. The rain has already dampen their clothes to the point that the roof’s shelter has no use anymore. They all look as though they are a family of sharks trying to fit in a fish tank. At an instant, the youngest flops off the bench making Ravi domino to the right. Ravi stops himself from slipping all the way and then gets up from the bench, kneeling down to help the other man.

Ken, unaffected, glances to the ground with a smile while holding his right leg playfully against his chest, “Maybe we should figure out another way to sit here, he-he.”

Helping the youngest up with his arm steadily raised out, Ravi asks, “You okay, Hyuk?”.

“Yeah.”, Hyuk gets up and with that, he slips right back down. “Whoa-”, he smiles wide with a silent laugh.

Grinning back down at him, Ravi reenacts his actions, but this time holding onto Hyuk's back with a firm grip.

Once the two of them get back up, Ken suggests, “Why don't we take turns sitting on the bench while you guys are on the lookout?”.

“Alright, that sounds better.”, chuckles Hyuk as Ravi crosses him to the left side of the bus stop. Hyuk walks over to the opposite side, while Leo and Ken make themselves comfortable on the two seater bench. The dense morning carries on.

As they wait at the bus stop, you have been nervously shifting your eyes over to the man, the bus driver, the windows, and your shoes. You shift them to the man again. Right as you lay your eyes on him, his hands become fists on the seat. Your first bet is to dash to the back of the bus, yet you stay chained in place, like a fawn in front of a truck. His teeth tense up. You staggeringly back up by scooching down one more seat over while keeping your guard. The man seems to be regaining consciousness. His breathing gets increasingly heavier. The rain, still taking its course, pounds violently on the sides of the bus. Taking more scooches, you notice that you have hit the end of the bus's seats. His head rises up from being tilted back. An unsettling chill creeps through your chest.

He immediately forces his body up from the seat, in panic. “I-I can't see-”, the man stutters as he brings his left hand over his head.

    “HOLD ON!”, you gasp as you dash to him. Suddenly you have no fright of this man. You were going to lift your beanie off of his head, but you could tell he just noticed it was on him. You back a couple of feet, while he lifts the hat off his head. His countless strands of black hair gleam like a field of wet grass in the night. You finally have a good glimpse at his face, even though half of it is covered with hair. Standing perfectly straight, he raises his head slowly as though he is in thought.

    Ga, please don't come closer. You're scaring me.

    His pitch black, moon-like eyes meet dead center with yours.

    Shoot! Don't do anything, I swear! Stay back!

    You closely examine his expression.

    Huh, wait. He looks scared, himself…

    Even with his damp hair over his eye-line, you can clearly see the horror in his eyes. As soon as you try to speak, his pupils get loose and fall upward, sending you shivers. He trembles to the ground, while catching his weight back on the seat at once. By instinct, you crouch to his level and lay your hand over his back for support.

“Sir, can you hear me? Are you alright-”

    The man's eyes flutter and then come to a halt. Instantly, they shut, “Yes.” he breathes.

    He spoke.

    “Oh, thank goodn-”

    “I'm, not.”

    “You're not, what?”

    “Not okay.”, he huffs as he scrunches his nose.

    “Tell me, what would help you now?”

    His eyes open big, directionless, “It wasn't just a puncture… I thought that was it. No, it was more than that. I wouldn't have fainted, only screamed. I-I'm scared. This has never happened before. Where am-how did I get-”, you could tell he was light-headed by just talking.

    “You're in a bus. Please don't waste your breath yet. I don't want you to faint again.”, you sit there for a moment. A long moment. Both of you are dreadfully tired and lost. The best thing at the moment is to pause. You feel awkward, but also it just feels like the right thing to do now. Your ankles become tight from crouching. You slide one leg under the other and sit down, upright, keeping one hand still on him.

    “Th-thank you, kindly.”, he looks up to you.

    His voice is so delicate; if only you could speak more.

    “Of course.”, you smile.

    “Did, I frighten you earlier?”

    “Well, yes. A great deal! And you still scare me.”, the man brokenly smiles with a little laugh at your comment.

    “I'm sorry. I don't want to scare you, please know that.”

    “I honestly thought you were some serial killer with the way you are dressed up and approached me.”

    “I won't lie, the expression on your face was funny to watch.”

    You tense up a little, “Hey!”.

    “What was the hat for?”

    “To cover your eyes so that the bus driver wouldn't suspect anything fishy. I should probably retrieve it, hang on.”, you step over to the beanie on the floor and pick it up. The man sits upright on the seat and watches you pat the beanie dry.

    “That hat… It says, Nhox on it!”, the man immediately bolts up from his seat and your beanie; his eyes are filled with fascination.

    “Yeah, I go there. It's my second year. It’s not the best University, I know, I know, but it's real close to my house and so it was manageable.”.

    Why the heck is he so fixated?

    “You… live… close to there!”, he blurts.

    “Yes. That's what I just said.”, you retort.

    The man lets go of the beanie in an instant and hugs you with all his might,“You can't be serious! AH YES! YES! YES! YES! I LOVE YOU! AH-HA! A sign of hope! Glorious… hope!”, he pushes your chest back, while still holding onto your arms, “You are just what we need. I can't believe it. You are a sign. I don’t want to lose sight of you ever.”, he hugs you again, almost suffocating you this time. The warmth of his chest against yours feels like a pounding fire in a cold, isolated winter. This heat gives both of you a slight comfort from the rain’s infinite chill. “You're warm...”, he purrs. A slight smile rises on your face as you try to hide your pink face. The hug feels unlike any other hug you have felt. This hug feels as though you have just given him life and peace. “Really, I am completely speechless right now. You don't understand. I have been running and starving just to hear those words from someone… anyone.”, his voice gets quiet, “There is hope.”. You do not know exactly why he is acting this way, but you are moved by his words as he is with yours.

    “I don't understand.”

    “My friend, he's suffering and we've been waiting for a miracle of some-sort. You, I think, could be that. He's locked somewhere, unable to reach anyone. We believe he's in Nhox University.”

    “Goodness! I'll contact the police to notify them right away.”

    “No, you can't.”

    “But why?”

    “They'll die.”

    “WHAT?! WHAT EXACTLY IS THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN? …Are-are we safe?”

    “No one is, but let's just say, you are the most safest and unprotected one right now. I must protect you, but that can only go so far. If anything strange happens, run… even if that means away from me. Just do it at any cost. But, for now, you are in good hands, because you didn't run. But I suggest to run if something feels off.”.

    Lightning strikes, making the windows of the bus shake.

“EEEEEEEEEEE-”, the man squeaks as he jumps into your arms, with his legs raised.

    “KYAAA! HOW DID YOU LEAP SO FAST?! You almost gave me a heart attack when you jumped!”, you burst, as he clenches onto your neck for more support.

    He’s legit, ON ME! I repeat, he’s clenching for his life!

“It's only some thunder, calm down!”

    Closing his eyes tightly, he gulps, “Is it over?! Is it gone?!”.

    “More will come eventually, but it is over…”

    He grins, “Good”.

    “Can-you-get-”, you struggle, “Hnnng… OFF-me-”.

    “Oh.”, embarrassed, he jumps off and sits down on one of the seats.

    “He-he, I've never seen someone that scared of thunder before.”

    “I tend to get frightened easily.”

    “Ah, I see.”

    “How long is this ride anyway.”, he scratches his head.

    “It shouldn't be that much longer. She's driving awfully fast tonight. I'm surprised that we haven't hit a red light yet.”

    “Okay…”

    You walk over to your hat and pick it up once again, then take a seat next to him. “What's your name?”.

    “N! Like it?”, his eyes get sparkly like a baby unicorn.

    “N?”

    “N.”, he smiles widely.

    What a strange name; just one letter.

    “Just N, nothing else?”

    “Yep.”

    “Hmm.”

    “You?”

    “Hope.”

    “REALLY?!”.

    “Ha, no, but I'll keep it.”

    “You know, when you put N and Hope together it makes Nope.”, he laughs. You burst out giggling as well.

    “Oh gosh, true.”, you let out another little giggle.

    After you two settle down a bit he comments, “Ah, it's so late… or shall I say early.”

    “Yeah, I just want to go to bed.”

    “Then do so, I don’t mind. I can move further up to the front of the bus if it makes you feel more comfortable and less frightened.”

    “What? Are you kidding?!”

    “If you’re tired, you’re tired. No one’s here, except me of course... annnd the bus driver… but, I can wake you up once we get there.”

    He really does care for me. I’ve never been praised before. This is kind of weird, but it’s nice.

    “Urm, I’ll wait until I get home.”

    If this ride ever speeds up.

    “I wonder what time it is… are there any clocks in here?”

    “It's a bus, I don't think so. Maybe in the front, but I wouldn't bother the bus driver.”

    “Hasn't she been listening to us all this time?”

    “She wears ear buds when she drives.”

    “That's a relief.”

    “She takes them off when she stops, but she's always has them on, at least around her neck when not using them. Honestly, I don't understand how she still has this job. She frightens me sometimes. At least she is a good driver, but safety is definitely not one of the first words I would connect with her. I am normally the only person who rides this bus, so no one else has been here to report anything. I am pretty sure that I have had my life endanger because of her about six times this year. I've learned to cope with it. Now let's hope that the rest of this ride will be smooth.”

    “Yeah.”

    “Oh, I was meaning to check your cut. You can't possibly not be in pain.”

    “It's stinging, but I am used to that feeling. At first it hurt like hell, but my body has grown to these pains...”

    Used to these pains? This is on a normal basis?! You poor thing!

    “…Really, Hope, I’m fine. Please don’t be alarmed.”, he waves his hands in front of his face, blushing.

    “Alright.”

    “You see, I’m a-”

    “You’re A? I thought you were N? I’m confused.”

    “No, I’m a-a-a- a doll.”

    “A doll? Well, you are very pretty, but I mean if you say so-”

    He puts one of his hands on your shoulder, “No, I mean I am really a doll.”, you let go of the hat, making it slide a little on your chair,

    “Pfft, uh, o-kayyy.”, you feel your heart beating faster.

    “I’m someone’s voodoo doll.”, you’re whole body gets tingly; just something about that word, voodoo, makes your stomach compress.

    “You’re jo-”

    The random faints, the stares, the punctures, the clothes, he really is a-

    “AHHHH!”, you blurt. N freezes with his legs up on the chair, his shoulders tight. “AHHHH! AHHH- AHHH- ahhhhh- ahh... ah…”. The bus fills with silence. Awkwardly, N slowly moves himself back. “AHHHH!”, you unintentionally screech, grasping your hands over your mouth. N becomes a statue once again. With your lips shaking, you slowly move your hand out towards him. N’s eyes rapidly glance down at your hand, then looks back up at you. You expeditiously touch his arm and then you bounce right back.

“He-he, you’re funny, he-he.”, he bubbles. “RRRRA!”

“EEP!”, you jump.

“Nyaww...”

“Aww?! You’re giving me the creeps!”

“Mmm, okay… I’ll stop.”, he sniffles as he cuddles his knee on the seat, dropping the other in sorrow.

I can’t believe that startled me, ha. I’m such a weakling.

“...BWAAA!”

“AHH!”, you flinch, “Pfft, how did I not expect that to happen again?”, you bring your fingers to your forehead.

“I don’t know, but I didn’t think it was going to work a second time!”, N beams, making a big smirk.

“Wait... I thought voodoo dolls only move when the doll-maker moves them, so how are you moving so freely now?”

“Well, she’s not always holding me, right? That would just be strange… and dreadfully painful.”

“So… how do you know when she is?”

“I-I don’t, that's the problem.”

“Uh-”

“I’m one out of five other dolls. That makes six in total.”

“She has more! Goodness, am I going to turn into a doll too?! Where are the other dolls?”

“The other… others…”, N mumbles. With a sudden hunch, he bolts up. “The others! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, aish! They have no idea I’m here! Hold up… I've got to get back to them. But how? Even if I got-”

    “Do you need help?”, you blankly state while staring at him ponder words.

    “-off this bus, there would be no way of me being able to find them. It's sopping wet outside and I don't even know the streets.”

    “You can stay with, me? For now of course.”, you hint.

    I was originally going to treat you at my house but you seem to be sort of fine now, kinda, not really… so it wouldn’t hurt. Also, I really want to know more about you. Yet… the other half of me is telling me to forget this whole incident and try to gain back my sanity since I feel like I’m losing it. This can’t be real.

    Pacing up and down the aisle, N utters, “Who's going to look after them now? Oh my gosh, and they must be lost out there. What if they are assuming the worst? Ah, this is just a mess! I hope they are okay without me.”

    “N.”, you stand up.

    He immediately picks up his head to the sound of your voice,  “Huh? Oh, yes?”

    “They’ll be fine. We are stuck here, so let’s focus on the moment for now.”

    “Right. I can stay at your house you said?!”

    “Whelp, I meannn… I can’t leave you on the streets, and I’m apparently ‘destined’ to help you, so, yes. Certainly.”, every next word you say, you can his face lighten up.

    “Yay! I wonder what your house will look like.”, N cups his hands around his face.

    “Luckily, my parents are not home tonight since they had a get together trip with their old friends from work and they are coming back tomorrow afternoon, but for now they are not there.”

    “That marks off one problem.”

    “Yep.”, the bus, without warning, stops. Both of you move a little in place from the sudden stop. You two turn your heads over to the front of the bus. The doors gust open, letting the rain droplets fume in. Both of your heads meet.

“So, are we getting off?”, N asks.

“Mmhm.”, you nod, gazing into his eyes.

N takes a brief look out the window, without changing position, “The rain seems to be the same as earlier.”.

“Yeah, seems like we’ll have to leap out quickly. Sorry I don’t have an umbrella.”, you fumble your sleeves, looking down.

“Ah, a little rain never hurt anybody.”

You lift your head up, scrunching your face at him, biting your lower lip, “But, you look so cold!”. You sigh, “Hitting the rain again won’t help.”.

He turns his head back to you, “I’ll live, he-he.”.

“O-kay.”

“Well?”, N takes your hand and you both walk up to the front of the bus. “Bus driver?”, he smiles.

What is he up to now?!

The bus driver, with earbuds, stares straight ahead, having one hand on the steering wheel.

“Excuse me, madam?”, N lightly taps her on her shoulder. She takes down her earbuds and then glares at him in silence.

Oh gosh, please-

“Have a good one, stay safe.”, N slightly bows with a grin. You eyeball him and then say thank you to the bus driver as well. As you two pivot around to the open doors, you could tell that made her day. You could feel her spark of joy behind your back, even though you both turned before seeing her reaction. As N dashes down the three steps and out the door, you halt at the last step, causing him to let go of your hand and jump out alone. He lands out into one of the many puddles on the sidewalk, soaking his bare feet to the bone. The hard rain coats his sweater to his body shape. Folding his arms, he clenches onto his elbows, moving his hands up and down his sides. His whole body vibrates. “C’mon Hope!”

You stand there with no confidence, “It’s freezing!”.

“EMBRACE IT!”, he gushes while opening his arms real big.

“Mmm… I’m going! …wha-”, you jump right into a puddle as well. “Ah! My- FEET! YOUR FEET! I have shoes, you don’t! You must be dying!”

“Hope, mo-”, as soon as he begins to speak, the bus closes its doors and scatters off, creating a tsunami of dirty water all over you.

“-ve.”, N tries to end his warning, yet it was too late, obviously.

Cold, cold, cold, cold…

“Hope!”, he trots over to you. By instinct, he almost wraps his arm around you, but he draws back because of the situation. “Man you got drenched!”

Cold, cold, cold, cold….

“You okay?”, he chuckles.

“Cold, cold, cold, cold…”

N sighs, “Same.”.

“My house is the second one d-d-d- down, by the way. We should mo-mo-mo- move there. N-n-n- now.”. You shiver down the sidewalk with N following right behind you like a lost penguin.

“It’s this o-o-o- one.”, you walk down the glossy sidewalk up to your doorstep.

In front of you stands a two-story built house, with a dark brown coating on the bricks, but not too dark. It is almost like if dark chocolate mixed with milk chocolate. The doorstep consists of three steps, each digging closer to the entrance. The railings shine from the everlasting rainfall. At this point in time, no other sounds than the rain can be heard. You feel as though only yourself and N are the only ones alive. You’ve stayed up all night before, but being outside in the grim morning has never crossed you before. The misty air gives you chills, but strangely comforts you as well. You reach your hand into your back pocket, pulling out the keys for the door. You grab onto the handle with your other hand and then kick the glass door to the side with your hips, keeping it open. Drizzles fall on your eyelashes, making it hard to see the lock correctly.

You struggle turning the key, “Almost, got- it. Nya-”. You turn the key all the way then force the inside door to swing inside. “Huff- Ah! Got it.”. Your door stands wide open. “Now… where’s the lightswitch?”, you rub your fingers on the inside wall as you stand outside. You flick it up and down multiple times. Your eyes become saucers.

Oh no no, this isn’t happening. Not today.

You consistently work your hands up and down the switch, increasing the speed.

You've got to be kidding me.

“It’s, it’s not working! The lightswitch.”

“Really?”

“If it was working you’d be witnessing a disco party going on in here; I’m pretty sure we’ve lost power.”. You blindly stare into the abyss of your humble home.

N peeks his head in, “Whelp, it’ll do for now.”.

“Yeah but it’s dark as outer space in here. I can’t make out anything.”

I guess I could try moving around a little since I’ve got my house mapped pretty well in my head, yet that won’t be any help for N. Can I just leave him here?

“Uh- stay here for a sec. I won’t be long.”

“Don’t fall.”

    You stretch your arms out and wave them unnaturally around in the air, as you take a larger step into the house than you intended.

    Okay, all I need is to get to the closet. The closet… It’s located to the left, in the living room. Aaand it’s on the right- left, no, right or left of the door? Oh gosh, think. Right or left? Right or left? Ahhh… Right! Right. It’s on the right. Okay, now I’ve just got to move to the room… somehow. Eh.

    You start heading to the left side of the room. It has been awhile since you have been in your home because of collage. Even though you have not been home for some time, your memory of the place is clear as a crystal. You put your arms down and begin to walk casually towards the left side.

    This isn’t that bad. Hmm.

You suddenly face plant into the side of the wall, next to the entrance of the living room.

    “Ga-”

    Nevermind, ha.

    You lift your arms up once again. Feeling the wall, you make out the opening. You take a baby-step into the living room.

    So, the closet should be to the right of the opening.

As you pivot to the right, you reach out, trying to find a knob. Your hand feels around the closet door and then you shift it a little to the entrance by mistake. Instead of your hand going through the entrance, it lands on something between the opening; something cushiony, but flat.

    Wait, this feels almost like it’s a stomach-

    You let out a loud gasp.

    “HUMAN!”

    “It’s me! It’s me.”, N  raises his hands in front of him.

    “N!? I thought you stayed put at the door.”

    “You said to wait a second and I did. Anyway, you were taking long, so I started to worry.”

    “Well then how the heck did you come here without making a single creek in the floor?!”

    “I have my ways…”

    “O-kay. Thennn how did you make it this far into my house without bumping?”

    You haven’t been here before… HAVE YOU?!

    “I heard your step movements while I was at the door and I followed where I thought those steps were taking place. I was counting in my head how many steps I heard and how much time it took you. I also heard you pivot to the right, so I knew you were facing the living room entrance. I only followed what you did. That’s all.”

    You knew the difference between me stepping and me pivoting, with only the sounds of my feet?! This man, I swear-

    “Umm,  how-”

    “Did you find a flashlight yet?”

    “Well I was trying to, but I can’t feel the knob. It’s on this wall. I know that much. And it’s in the closet.”

    “Hmm…”, N feels around the left of the door. “You sure it’s here?”

    “Yes.”, you reach out your hand against the wall as well. As you slide your hand down, you hit something hard. “Found it!”

    “Oh good.”

    You turn the knob and pull the closet door out. “The tricky part is feeling the flashlight in this mess.”. You fiddle around the shelves.

    Nope… nope… maybe? ...nope. Hmm?

    You toss a certain object in your palms, feeling the shape.

Ooo- This feels promising.

    “I think this is a flashlight.”. You take the object from the shelf and feel around it once more. Your thumb hits a button on the bottom. White light instantly illuminates the lurid room, making both of you feel at peace. “It’s the best we have for now.”

    “Do you have anymore?”

    “This is the only one that I know works. We’ve got to buy more flashlights. For some reason they keep dying on us. Anywho, while we have a light source I’ll show you around my house. It’s a townhouse, so there’s not that much to show around. My house is pretty small and easy to remember rooms.”. You tilt the flashlight to the sky, causing the room to become dimly lit. “Here’s the living room, as you already know. There’s the couch and there’s the television… and the closet that we just opened.”. You take a step out of the room, into the room that you both entered in, with the entrance door. “This is the main hallway, I guess you would call it? It acts like a hallway because all of the rooms can be access by this room, but it can be considered a room by its width.”. You walk straight across the wooden floor of the entrance room to the opening on the right. You shine the flashlight through the room. “This is the kitchen. You are more than welcome to eat whatever you find or cook anything that your heart desires. I know you must be starving, so feel free.”. Starting from left wall to right wall, there is a refrigerator, then two cabinets, then the stove, then a sink, and at the end of the row, there is the dishwasher. In the middle of the room lays a wooden table with one chair at both ends. The cream tiles reflect the flashlight’s light, making the floor look slippery. “The tiles can get quite cold at night. You might want to wear socks. The floors in here get frostbite themselves.”. You take a turn out of the kitchen, back into the entrance room. You lift the flashlight to the back of the wall. The light uncovers a set of quarter landing stairs running to the left, then up. The stairs are caramel with white highlights. Each railing is carved with an oval at the tip, giving style to the empty room. “These stairs lead to the bedrooms and the restroom. Oh, right. For restroom use, we only have one restroom upstairs. It’s really big though. It has three sinks.”.

    “Three sinks? Cool.”

    “Yeah, the design is a little strange, but it just takes time to get use to. You’ll see.”. You start to head up the stairs. As you get at the top, you shine the flashlight down the hall. The wooden flooring stops at the last step. Where the stairs stop, a faded blue rug starts. The rug covers the whole hallway. There are two doors on both sides of the hallway; each spaced out evenly. There is one door at the end of the hallway where the rug finishes. That room is yours. As you stand there with your flashlight shining down on the closed-in walls. You hear rubbing sounds behind you. You turn your head around and see N shuffling his wet, cold, bare feet against the fluffy rug.

His eyes smile at the ground, “It’s sooo soft.”.

“This whole level is carpeted, except the restroom.”

N gasps with a grin. “You’re joking?! Ah, this is going to be the greatest.”, N shuffles his feet some more on the floor.

“Don’t get use to it too much. I’ve got to show you a few more places before you settle down.”

N keeps shuffling his feet in place. You can see the glitter in his eyes.

“N!”

“Oh, yes.”

“I’ve got to show you just two more rooms.”, you open the first door to the right. Shining the flashlight through the door you continue, “This is the restroom.”. The restroom's snow-white walls appear gray from the lack of light illuminated. With the lights fully , the pure milky marble of the sinks and shower blind those who lay their eyes on them. There are slight hints of gold in the room, but they seem to be bronze at the moment. “You must be wondering why we have three sinks, right? It’s more of a family preference I guess. My parents wanted their own sinks, so I soon got one too, ha. Don’t ask me why. I still ask myself everyday why they took the time in creating extra sinks.”.

“All these rooms look pretty creepy.”

“You can say that again. This place definitely looks more comforting with the lights on.”, you close the door and walk over to the door right next to it, on the wall. You open it. This is the guest room, but you can sleep in my parent’s room tonight. The bed’s bigger in there. And honestly, if I had a choice I would sleep there instead of the guest’s bedroom.”

“Aw, thank you. They won’t mind, will they?”

“Eh, I mean…”

“I can just-”

“No, I insist that you take the better room. It’s the least I can do.”

They’re not here, so they will never know. Not that I think it would be a problem anyway.

“Okay.”

You close the guest bedroom and cross over the hallway. There lies two other doors, excluding your door at end. You open the left door, closest to the end of the hallway.

“Aaand this is my parent’s room. Where you will be staying.”, you scan the flashlight around the room, making a cream-colored bed appear, that of a queen size, on the left wall. There is a long cabinet against the wall on the right and a large window draping its silk on the ground, on the back wall. “Well, the tour is over. My room is not that different from the guest and this room, so if you want to see it you can, but I don’t want to waste any more of your time. You can go through the cabinets to get a pair of pajamas to change out of your wet clothes. My parents are about as tall as you, so there shouldn’t be that much of a difference in size. Also, there’s clean toothbrushes under the sinks. Oh, and have a goodnight.”. You start to walk out.

“Wait… Hope.”

“Huh?”

“I can’t see.”

“Oh, right. About that…”, you hand him the flashlight and start to walk away again.

“Hope.”

    You turn around, “Yes?”

    “Nothing...”

    “Goodnight.”

    “Goodnight.”

    As you clumsily walk to the back door, to your room, N places the flashlight on the cabinet in your parent’s room. He opens up the cabinet's drawers. “Huh, but there’s not that many clothes in here. Oh right, they went on a trip. Duh…”. N fiddles around through the leftover clothes and picks up a white t-shirt. “This’ll be good, I guess. But, where’s the pants in here?”. N fiddles some more and opens the next cabinet. In this cabinet are more feminine pieces,  “This must be her mother’s side.”. He eyeballs a bubblegum-pink pajama bottom at the bottom of the clothes pile. “Ooo- These look warm.”, he picks them up and lays them on the top of the cabinet with the white t-shirt, “And they even have little white snowflakes on them. Kyaa! Jackpot.”. He digs through the cabinet some more and he finds a pair of low raised socks. “Alright, now I’ve got my wardrobe all sketched out.”. N then folds the clothes and wraps them in his arms. Heading towards the shower, he takes the flashlight with him.

You hear the water running from your bedroom.

Seems like he’s found what he was looking for. I’m still somewhat wet from the rain, so I may as well take a shower after him.

As time passes, you find yourself going through the whole day in your head.

Today’s been such a strange day. First, I found out that my friend’s cat went missing, then I lost my notebook and I had to buy a new one at the school store, then I could have sworn the forecast said it was supposed to be bright and cheerful today, not dark and gloomy, then the bus arrives 9 hours later than it normally does, then I get a beautiful voodoo doll man face-planted on the sidewalk, and now he’s taking a shower in my house. I-I don’t know what to say or think anymore. I can’t get any of it off my head. Is all of this a blessing or a danger?

The tapping sounds stop.

He must be done with his shower now; time to brush up too.

You crack your door open and slide out into the hallway, holding tightly on the side of your thick, white long-sleeve pajama top. You desperately wait outside of the restroom in the pitch-black dark. You hear a fan go on.

“Eep!”, you flinch, putting your hand on your chest.

Oh, that’s just the blow dryer. I guess he found it.

All sounds suddenly fade. You stand there with your back against the wall. You fidget with your little fingers.

Please come out, this is freaking me out…

Your eyes are glued on the restroom.

N…

The door abruptly opens. You yourself off the wall and blankly stare at him. His hair is all fluffed up and combed, his makeup is all washed off, his ripped black clothes are neatly folded around his arm, like a waiter does with a cloth, and the flashlight, casually gripped in the other hand. The white v-neck comes a little lower than his shoulders, showing the structure of his neck and upper chest. The shirt is a bit loose fit, yet does the job. The shirt ends a little further than the waist. The pajama pants droop around his socks, covering up his ankles. You take a long time staring at his pants.

Those, those are-

“Umm, Hope? What are you staring at-”, N glances down at his pants and then to yours and then back to his. He then raises his head up and you both look at each other. “You’re. Wearing. The same pants…”

“Yep, I just noticed.”

N blurts, “Twinsies!”.

You facepalm your face and make a big, dumb grin. “Those are actually my mom’s. We got the same pair.”

“They’re very comfortable.”

“Yep, they’re her winter pajamas, that’s why.”

“I feel motherly wearing these.”

“Pfft, well goodnight.  I’m going to actually take a shower tomorrow morning, I think. My hair has been drying up all this time and I’m beat.”

“Okay, goodnight dear.”, N smirks.

“Oh my gosh, you’re reminding me of my mom, ha.”

“Alright, goodnight.”, he pats you on the head, like a big brother, and goes back to his room. You turn your head to get a last glimpse at him, yet he has already disappeared into the shadows.

You quickly brush your teeth in the darkness and then head to the end of the hallway to rest up.